She looks between Steph and me, then nods, grabbing her purse and phone before darting from the office. Once she’s gone, I close the door and turn to give Steph an unimpressed look.
“What?”
“There’s no reason to go around pissing on your territory, Steph, because it’s not actually your territory—it’s mine, remember?” I walk over and sit at my desk.
She rolls her eyes and sits in the chair on the other side. “If you’d given me a heads-up that you hired her, I wouldn’t have been interrogating her when you walked in.”
I steeple my hands on my desk. “Let’s not pretend you wouldn’t have.”
She shrugs, lips pressed together. “My point still stands. You should have told me.”
I lean back in my seat, arms crossed. “You work for me. You’re only entitled to know what I choose to tell you. Now, I want to hear how it went this week. Any issues I need to deal with?”
She looks appropriately chastised before she launches into telling me what I need to know, and I relax a bit, hoping she won’t cause Hattie any more grief.
When we finish our meeting, it’s apparent to me that she’s hoping I’ll go lock the office door so we can have some fun, but I’m not interested. My mind is on only one thing right now—advancing my plan with Hattie. And with the way she ran out of here, I suspect I may have to do some damage control.
“Where are you planning to be next week?” I ask, getting up from my chair and making my way to the door.
“Los Angeles.”
My hand closes around the door handle, and I pull it open, motioning that she can head out. “Great. Let me know how it goes.”
She stands from her chair, looking as though maybe she’s going to say something, but she must realize that her words will fall on deaf ears, because she simply nods and leaves.
I pass Steph in the hallway as she’s talking to one of the dancers, and I can feel her watch me until I disappear from view. Steph better not be getting territorial on me now, or the two of us are going to have an unpleasant conversation.
I quickly make my way to my condo, then I confirm with Jeffery that Hattie arrived about twenty-five minutes ago.
When I enter the condo, Hattie isn’t in the main area, so I head down the hall to her room. Her bedroom door is open, and several boxes are piled beside her dresser. She’s sitting on the end of the bed with her shoulders sagging, staring down between her legs. Something is wrong. Something besides Steph’s attitude toward her.
“I almost quit today.” Her words come out soft and forlorn as I enter the room.
Fear spears me, sharp and swift. “Why?”
She raises her head and meets my gaze. There are tears in her eyes, which I should relish, but somehow they make me feel… protective. I push back that this whole thing is getting a little twisted and recenter myself on the plan.
“I don’t want to tell you.” Hattie looks away from me. “I’m ashamed.”
I sit on the edge of the bed beside her. “What would you have to be ashamed about?”
“When I took a break today, I went out to the main room, and I was watching Destiny give a lap dance to one of the customers and it…” Her face crumples, and she squeezes her eyes shut. “It turned me on,” she whispers.
Jesus. She’s more innocent than I thought if being turned on causes her this much guilt. I have to wonder if this woman has ever even had an orgasm. Is she a virgin?
“That’s nothing to be ashamed of.” When she tries to look away from me, I place a finger under her chin and turn her head in my direction. “Hattie, that’s what’s supposed to happen. It’s a biological response. A normal human response. You don’t have to be ashamed of it.” I keep my voice gentle, hoping she’ll hear the truth in my words. Because I won’t get anywhere with her if she thinks every time she’s turned on, it’s bad.
As much as I resent this woman, I hate that she was raised to think there’s something wrong with her because of her sexuality and what she desires.
“You don’t understand. My whole life I was taught that things like that, places like that are wrong. And now I work in one, and not only am I lying to everyone back home about it, but I’m starting not to hate it, not to think it’s so terrible. I wasenjoyingit.”
“Have you considered that a bigger issue might be if you hadn’t?”
Her forehead wrinkles. “What do you mean?”
Here goes nothing.“I know that you were raised with certain beliefs, and I’m not here to tell you they’re wrong. Not at all. But sexuality is a part of being human. Sometimes it’s just for fun or pleasure, sure, and if that’s not your thing, okay. But it’s also a big part of expressing your feelings for someone you care about. It’s not just about procreation.” Taking a gamble, I place her hand over my heart. Her hazel eyes widen. “It’s about connection and intimacy, knowing a person the way very few other people ever will. It’s about giving and receiving pleasure. There’s a reason it’s called making love.” I shake my head. “No one should ever feel guilty about that, so stop beating yourself up about it.”
She lets out a shaky exhale, and I drop her hand from my chest. “I hear what you’re saying, and on some level, I know you’re right. I do. It’s just so hard to push against the voice in my head because it’s been there for a long time.”
